The world has seen five big extinctions in the last 500 million years, each of which led to the decimation of more than 75% of the species. But for the first time in history, we have a species which is capable of not just causing an extinction but being aware of it as well. I loved the book for the curiosity it evoked and adding a sense of romanticism in science.
The printing press was once called the biggest source of distraction, but technology has come a long way since then, and made sure that it is extremely difficult to not get distracted! Nir Eyal provides a systematic guide, keeping things simple, to navigate our personal and professional lives and become “indistractable”.
Industrial capitalism exploited nature and gave us the bounty of comforts we enjoy in the modern era. Surveillance capitalism is exploiting human nature. The consequences are that there is increasingly no refuge, no sanctuary, from the relentless efforts of corporations that are intent on controlling every facet of an individual’s existence. In the current trajectory, it will lead to a further consolidation of wealth and power. Not an easy read, but most definitely a must read.
An amazing book that I recommend to everyone. While the title has “exposing data bias in a world designed for men”, the book does way more than that. In addition to using data and case studies to illustrate that point, it shows how correcting this could lead to better results not just for women, but humanity itself.
The premise is excellent. Our consumption, sharing and creation of data could tell us a lot about our society and the evolution of our culture in different parts of the world. The problem is, the book is based solely on the authors’ experiments with datasets using Google Books Ngram Viewer. 30 million books digitized by Google. A lot of books, but still a small subset. The book doesn’t match the expectations set by the title, but is still an interesting read.